By Erica Wright
The Birmingham Times
Members of the Omicron Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated were decked out in their pink and green at City Hall to receive a proclamation from Mayor Randall Woodfin during the City Council meeting on Tuesday.
As part of the ladies’ 94 year chapter celebration, Woodfin proclaimed Tuesday, October 23 AKA Day at City Hall.
The mayor talked about the sorority’s 94 years of service in the metro Birmingham area. “The chapter gives $20,000 annually in scholarships to high school and college students, makes various contributions to charitable organizations and continually provide volunteer services throughout our community,” he said. “. . . the sorority has flourished into a globally impactful organization of nearly 300,000 college trained members bound by the bonds of sisterhood and empowered by a commitment to servant leadership that is both domestic and international in scope.”
Nanette Baldwin, president of the Omicron Omega chapter, said “We are happy to be in this community and we are also investors in this community . . . we have several leaders in this organization, many of whom you know through your business relationships, education relationships, and community relationships and we’re just so happy to know we are serving this community in many different capacities.”
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated was founded on the campus of Howard University on January 15, 1908.
The Omicron Omega chapter was chartered on October 24, 1924, becoming the first graduate chapter chartered in the South Eastern Region and the 15th graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. Omicron Omega was also the first African American sorority established in the state of Alabama.
Some of the groups assisted by the chapter include One Roof, an organization that works to eradicate homelessness; the American Heart Association; the Sickle Cell Foundation; the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Last month, the chapter broke ground on a new home, The Pearl Center, at 1025 4th Avenue West in Birmingham.
Birmingham Councilors Steven Hoyt and John Hilliard also commended the chapter for their commitment to community work.
“I certainly appreciate the leadership you give in this community,” said Hoyt.
Hilliard thanked the women for welcoming his daughter, who is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, into their bond of sisterhood.
“Being the father of a young lady who is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, I can just hear that phone ring from when she made line, she was so excited . . . when I spent all that money for her to go to her first Boule and she called and she said, ‘dad it was awesome . . . you instilled a lot in my daughter and I look forward to her joining you in your graduate chapter soon. Continue to keep up the good work and thank you for delivering me such a beautiful young lady.”
As part of their chapter celebration, the ladies also attended worship service at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on Sunday and will host Party with a Purpose, a fundraiser for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) on Wednesday at the Kappa Komplex from 6- 10 p.m.
